Mother
by Novum-Semita
Summary: What kind of nightmare could be so bad that it drives you out of your home and halfway across Ooo to the comfort of a certain pink monarch. Marceline knows. Short fluffy bubbline oneshot, also touches on a theory concerning Marceline's mum.


Marceline shuddered. She was in a long dark corridor. A chill wind swept past her, raising goosebumps on her pale skin. She hugged herself in a vain attempt to keep warm as she advanced down the corridor.

"Hello?" she called out but there was no one about. Her shoes made little sound on the crimson carpet that stretched ahead of her. "Anybody here?" She heard a strange sound in the distance. It was too far away to hear clearly but it sent shivers down her spine. She reached a door which was slightly ajar. It was a bedroom. A canopied bed stood against the corner, red sheets covering it and a chair stood next to a dressing table. The room evidently belonged to a woman, Marceline could tell by the perfumed odour that the room carried. But the perfume was old, it had evidently been some time since the room had been in use. Marceline left and closed the door. There were more sounds echoing down the corridor, drawing closer. The hair on the back of Marceline's neck stood up on end and she quickened her pace.

At last she reached a flight of stairs. Everything seemed familiar but strangely faded. Where was she and why was she alone? She chewed nervously at the collar of her shirt as she descended the stairs. She heard soft humming coming from one of the rooms. She entered the room and spotted a pale woman sitting in an armchair, needle and thread in hand. She was sewing up a pair of jeans which Marceline recognised as her own. The woman looked up and their eyes met. Her eyes were blue, just as Marceline's had been before her encounter with the vampire.

"Oh, you're home, Marcy," she said with a smile, setting down the jeans, "How was your day out, sweetie?" Marceline hesitated.

"Mum?" said Marceline in surprise.

"Of course, dear," smiled her mum, "Who did you think I was. So, did you have a good time with your friends? Marceline hesitated.

"Umm...we-we had fun," she mumbled. Her mother beckoned for her to come sit with her and she did, feeling her heart jumping in her chest. She thought she'd never see her again. Father had told her she was dead. Was she? Maybe they all were. Her mum stroked her hair gently.

"Your hair's getting long again," she noted, "We'd better get you another appointment at the hairdressers.

"When will dad be home?" asked Marceline.

"Oh, not for some time yet," replied her mother, "You know how busy work keeps him. What do you want for dinner?"

"Can we have chicken?" asked Marceline.

"I'm afraid not," replied her mother, "we won't get more chicken until next week, I only had enough coupons for some fish and vegetables." That's right, there was a war on. Marceline remembered now. Everything was being rationed, even candy.

"I was able to get you some bubblegum though," continued her mother. Marceline's ears pricked up at this as a memory stirred in her mind. But she set it aside for now, she was home.

Suddenly a sound started up in the distance. It was a siren and its undulating calls sent fresh shivers along Marceline's spine. A flash of fire flared in her mind for a brief second but she blinked it away as her mum pushed her to her feet.

"Come on, Marcy, we have to get to the shelter," she said, her voice anxious.

Suddenly an explosion ripped through the air, throwing them to the ground. Marceline looked up screamed as she saw one of the wooden beams slowly falling towards her, ablaze and burning. She put her hands over her head, ready for the impact but someone pushed her out of the way. She looked and cried out as she saw her mother trapped under the burning beam. She rushed forwards and tried to heft it out of the way. The heat in the room was incredible and seemed to be increasing with each second.

"No," her mother cried, "Get away from here. There'll be more bombs falling. Just go!" But Marceline didn't budge. She began to cry as she heaved and clawed frantically at the beam. She couldn't transform and her powers didn't seem to be working.

There was another explosion and she screamed as she was flung to the ground once more. White stars popped in front of her eyes as her head collided with the ground. Suddenly the sounds and smells of the room vanished, replaced by darkness and the heat diminished.

Marceline opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling which was strangely intact. She rolled over onto her front and pushed herself up onto her hands and knees.

"Mum?" she called out but once more there was no reply. She picked herself up and looked around. There was Hambo sitting on her bedside table, tattered and torn as always and there were all her horror tapes sitting on the shelves. Her bass was leaning up against the wall, one string snapped which she had meant to fix before going to sleep. The familiarity should have been comforting but it only chilled her all the more. Her mum wasn't here. She never would be. Marceline curled up on the bed, cuddling Hambo to her as a few stray tears trickled down her cheeks, disappearing into the torrents of dark hair that framed her face. She could still smell the burning and the explosions still echoed in her mind. She was alone again.

In one movement she got up and pulled on her hoodie before flying out through the open window. She had to get out, as far away from those memories as she could get. She reached the cave entrance and looked out at the darkening sky. Mercifully the sun had just set and all of Ooo's inhabitants would be getting ready for bed. She flew up into the sky, at a loss for where to go. She didn't have a solid idea of where to go, she just knew it wasn't home. She began heading west, towards the plains. She shuddered in the cold night air and for a moment she felt like she was back in her nightmare. Tears still clouded her vision and for a second she saw the flames. She blinked and saw the red evening sky. She mentally tried to calm herself, looking up at the stars where they sat like diamonds. Sometimes it was hard to believe they were balls of fire as they looked small and cold from here, like snowflakes caught in the sky. She was starting to feel calm so she continued flying.

Suddenly an explosion echoed from far away in the direction of the explosives kingdom and she panicked, seeing the flames and hearing the screams replay in her mind once more. She cried out and darted across the sky. At least this time she had her powers.

She caught sight of a familiar building in the distance. The towering ice cream cones and pink ever present blossoms on the tree at the buildings summit were unmistakable. She made a beeline for the topmost tower. The window was open and she darted in, landing on the floor. She remained there for a few moments. When no more explosions followed she looked up. She knew this room, having been here a couple of times before, usually when the princess was holding a movie night. She never showed any horror movies but Marceline came along anyway.

At this point she also noticed she wasn't alone. Princess Bubblegum was sprawled out on the sheets, lying on her back, arms and legs akimbo as she slept. Marceline hesitated. Would she understand? She and the Princess didn't always see eye to eye but she'd never known her to laugh off her worries as others had done in the past. She remembered telling Ash about her nightmares once and receiving only a scant look and a sarcastic comment in response.

She got up made her way over to Bonnibel's bedside. She hesitated a moment, suddenly feeling a little foolish. Had a nightmare just driven her halfway across Ooo? She reached forwards, shaking the Princess' shoulder gently. "Bonnie," she whispered, "Bonnie!"

The Princess opened her eyes, mumbling something in German. The first thing she saw were red eyes glowing in the dark and wild black shapes swirling about the floating figure. She let out a yell, scrambling backwards and falling off the bed with a thud.

"Bonnie, are you ok?" asked Marceline, floating over to the Princess, "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Marceline?!" replied the Princess, reaching up and switching on the lamp, illuminating the room and revealing the floating figure for who she was. The Princess got up.

"What on Ooo are you doing here?" she asked in confusion and slight annoyance at what she deemed to be a rude awakening. Marceline looked at the ground.

"You can't just barge into someone's room in the middle of the night," continued the Princess, "Scaring them half to death and-." Marceline screwed her eyes shut. She hadn't expected this. Glob, she didn't know what she had expected.

"I thought you would understand," she yelled, startling the Princess for the second time that night. Bonnibel looked at her for a moment in confusion.

"Understand what?" she asked, trying to keep her voice level. Marceline paused. She hadn't told her. She'd gone over the nightmare so many times in her head but of course she hadn't got round to telling her. She couldn't read minds, glob dammit. Marceline felt her face heat up as she tugged at her raven hair. The Princess was more confused than ever. She sat down on the edge of the bed. "Marceline, what did you think I would understand?" she asked. Marceline looked at her and the Princess beckoned for her to sit down next to her. She did so and took a deep breath before speaking.

"I've been having these really awful nightmares," she said, "I know, it's stupid that it should drive me halfway across Ooo but they frighten me so much." She avoided the Princess' gaze as she said this.

"But why do you think I'll understand?" asked the Princess, "I don't know the first thing about how nightmares work."

"It's not that exactly," replied Marceline, "It's because I know you won't laugh it off or  
tell me I'm being stupid."

"Of course I wouldn't," said the Princess, "Why would I do that?" Marceline looked over at her. "What were they about anyway?"

"My mum," replied Marceline, looking back down at the ground, "It always starts with a corridor. I hadn't realised until this time around that it was actually the house I grew up in. I go along the corridor and downstairs. My mum's sitting there. Sometimes she's knitting or sewing. She welcomes me back home and we talk and stuff. Then we hear an air raid siren and we try to go to the shelter. But we never reach it. There's an explosion and she's trapped." Marceline paused, feeling the tears returning. To her slight surprise Bonnibel inched closer and put her arm around her. She looked over at her and she gave her a reassuring smile. Marceline smiled back, resting her head against Bonnibel's shoulder as she continued.

"It always ends with another explosion," she said, "But I know she's gone. Because that's how it really happened back then."

"This really happened?" asked Bonnibel. Marceline nodded. At last she could hold back no longer. Her shoulders shook and she put her head in her hands. Bonnibel rubbed her back gently. She regretted reacting so quickly earlier now that she saw how upset Marceline was. Although she'd never had a family in the conventional sense, she knew what it was like to be alone. She looked up at the ceiling, at a loss for what to say. Words like, "It'll be okay," sounded empty to her ears. So what should she say?

"Marceline, how long have these nightmares been going on?" she asked tentatively.

"As long as I can remember," replied Marceline.

"How often do they happen?" asked the Princess.

"Once every couple of months," replied Marceline. Princess Bubblegum sighed, putting her arm around Marceline. Marceline looked at her in momentary surprise. Then she smiled. Princess Bubblegum carefully wiped away the last of the tears and brushed a few stray strands of hair out of the Vampire Queen's face. Suddenly the Princess remembered something.

"Do you know what I do when a nightmare frightens me?" she asked.

"What?" asked Marceline.

"There's this little song I sing," replied Princess Bubblegum.

"Would you sing it to me?" asked Marceline, putting on a playfully pleading face. Princess Bubblegum laughed softly.

"Oh my twitchy witchy girl, I think you are so nice, I give you bowls of porridge and I give you bowls of ice...creeeeaam," she sang softly, her voice lilting. She poked Marceline's nose playfully, "I give you lots of kisses, I give you lots of hugs, but I never give you sandwiches with grease and worms and mung...beeeans."

Marceline laughed, "Where'd you learn that one?" she asked.

"I don't remember now," smiled Princess Bubblegum, "But it always makes me laugh. And I see it worked for you too." Marceline smiled. "Feeling better?" asked the Princess. Marceline nodded. Princess Bubblegum looked out at the night sky.

"Hey, I know you always travel at night and stuff," she said, "But, I was thinking, maybe you'd like to stay here tonight? I mean, if you want to."

"I'd like that," replied Marceline. The prospect of sleeping in the warm pink room was much more inviting than the thought of sleeping back where the nightmare had taken place. Princess Bubblegum climbed back into bed and Marceline joined her a moment later.

"Hey Bonnie," she said once she was settled.

"Yeah?" replied the Princess.

"Thanks," said Marceline. The Princess smiled.

"No problem," she replied as she began to drift off to sleep. A moment later she was wide awake. The reason for this was the Vampire Queen who had decided to move her sleeping position to lying in the Princess' arms.

"Mar, what exactly are you doing?" she asked slowly.

"I feel safer like this," replied Marceline by means of an answer.

"This wouldn't be some excuse for spooning with me, would it?" she questioned, arching an eyebrow at the Vampire Queen who was now smiling unashamedly at her.

"Now what made you think that?" she replied mischievously. Princess Bubblegum sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Alright," she said at last, "Make yourself comfy."

"I already am," smiled Marceline, nuzzling into the Princess' arms. Her hair tickled the Princess' face and she smiled.

"Oh my twitchy witchy girl, i think you are so nice," she sang sofly, fingers drifting through Marceline's hair as she sang.

"I give you bowls of porridge and I give you bowls of ice...creeeeam," Marceline joined in.

"I give you lots of kisses," sang the Princess, kissing Marceline's nose softly.

"I give you lots of hugs," Marceline sang back, hugging the Princess and nuzzling softly into her neck.

"But I never give you sandwiches with grease and worms and mung...beeeans," they sang together.

"Okay, I think it's time we got to sleep," said the Princess, looking at the clock whose hands now read midnight, "Goodnight Mar, sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams, Bonnie," murmured Marceline, kissing the Princess softly before curling up in her arms, feeling at peace once more.


End file.
